The Alaska Contractor: Fall 2006

job centers to help place novice employees,
and the Alaska Works Partnership,
an industry coalition with
experience in rural environments
training workers for
union and non-union
apprenticeship programs
in job safety,
general construction
skills, building maintenance
and repair jobs.
Also on board is
the Anchorage Home
Builders Association
and Alaska State Home
Building Association, a
trade group representing
the homebuilding and
remodeling industry.
As envisioned under
the one-year pilot
program, department of labor staff
will help identify and refer school
youth and adults to evening, weekend
and summer classes designed to
bolster their job skills. Those classes
could include math and literacy enrichment
courses, including English
as a second language offered through
Also on board is the
Anchorage Home
Builders Association
and Alaska State
Home Building
Association, a trade
group representing
the homebuilding
and remodeling
industry.
the state Adult Basic Education program,
Castle said. The department of
labor can also use the project to promote
training in other locations for
careers in oil and gas
pipeline construction,
mining and
public and private
infrastructure maintenance.
Many analysts
say one of the neediest
sectors for jobs is
in homebuilding and
residential development.
Travis Gilliard,
a self-employed contractor
from north
Anchorage agrees,
and he says he likes
the goal of the academy
to boost the labor pool.
“I could have used two or three
good hands this summer,” he said,
taking a break from an apartment
remodeling task. “It’s tough to fi nd
a good crew of reliable workers who
have the savvy to lay out the work, size
up the materials and get it done.”
54 The Alaska CONTRACTOR Fall 2006